This invention relates in general to protective coverings for material rolls. More specifically, this invention relates to an improved structure for a roll package for such a material roll and to an improved method of manufacturing same.
Rolling long sheets of material into rolls is a well known method used for storing and shipping flexible sheet material products. Examples of some of the flexible sheet material products that are commonly provided in material rolls include a variety of paper products, film products, and textile products. In order to protectively cover the material roll during transportation and storage, it is desirable to provide the outer surface of the material roll with one or more layers of a protective covering material. In some instances, it is also desirable to protectively cover the ends of the material roll with one or more layers of a protective covering material. When a material roll is provided with the protective covering material, the combined structure is referred to as a roll package.
Roll packages can consist of multiple, independent layers of the protective covering material that are applied to the material roll. The layers of protective covering material can be applied either in an axial direction, a radial direction, or a combination of axial and radial applications. Where independent layers of the protective covering material are used, it has been found that the roll package is relatively expensive to produce, inasmuch as each layer of the protective covering material generally completely encases either the material roll itself or the previous layer of the protective covering material. Additionally, the individual layers of the protective covering material are relatively difficult to apply to the material roll, inasmuch as numerous affixing and cutting operations are required. Finally, the various independent layers of the protective covering material make it relatively difficult to remove the roll package from the material roll prior to use. Thus, it would be advantageous to develop an improved structure for a roll package and a method for manufacturing same that overcomes the above disadvantages.